Improvement in fountain-pen holders



W. W. STEWART. Fountain-Pen-Holder.

.No. 206,200. Patented July 23,1878.

UNITED 1;: TATES ATENT WILLIAM W. STEWART, ()l" lllttlt'lkllY-N, Xl'l\\' Ytlltk.

IMPROVEMENT IN FOUNTAIN-PEN HOLDERS.

h'pw-iticutiou forming part of Letters Patent X0. 206,200, duh-ll July Bil, l- 'T- appliratiou tiled June .20. l-'-7 'I'o (ill whom it may concern:

vlie it. known that], \ViLLuru S'ri-nvanr, oi. the city of llrooklyn, in thecounty of Kings and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Fountain len Holders, of which the tbllowing is aspecification:

This invention relates to that class of penholders known as fountain or ink-containin g holders, because the interior of the holder constitutes a reservoir for liquid ink, which,

during .the act of writing, is fed to the pen either automatically or at the will of the writer.

The present device belongs to the latter subdivision; and consists, iirst, in a device for graduating at will the elastic resistance of the wall of the inlerescrvoir, so as to adapt the same to the pressure exerted by the tin gers of the user; secondly, in the peculiar structure of the vent-plu g. v

That others may fully understand my improvement, I will particularly describe the same, having reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure l i s aperspective of my holder, greatly enlarged. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the same. 1"ig.3isa section of the exhaustionluilb used in filling the reservoir, and of the vent-plu The holder is made hollow, and its interior forms the reservoir for ink. 1tmaybe constructed of any proper material, vulcanized,

and one-fourth inch, or thereabout, along the central part of its length, and a tube of soft.

rubber is placed within said barrel to cover said slits, so that the ink is prevented from escaping thercat. When the pen-holder is 1]! use, the slit portion is naturally pressed against the forefinger, and the act of managing the pen in writing eau es a series of compressions and relaxations ol' the flexible portion mentioned, varying in intensity according to the habit of the writer, and, it unregulated, the feed of ink correspondingly varies. lleretofore the only corrective for this defect consisted ot.' a variety of holders varying in stilt.- ness, so that the purchaser was required to select a holder suited to his hand, or learn to control his hand according to the resistance of the holder.

The first part. of my invention has for its object to correct this objection and enable the writer to adjust the elasticity of the holder to his habit, and thus make it unnecessary to construct the holders in variety.

\Vithout- OOlIfiHlHfJIlXSClf specifically to the method shown, I will confine my description to that method for convenience, because it is evident that it maybe greatly varied in method without in the least chan gin g the new efiect, which forms the basis of my invention, and which I design to cover broadl v.

The section of the barrel which is slit, as shown at (l, is also slightly expanded and the slits spread, so that elasticity extends over the entire length of the slit portion, and may be diminished by a ring or slide, which, when drawn over the barrel, serves to practically shorten the slits and diminish the length of the elastic portion, and correspondingly increase the stitt'ness and power of resistance of that part of the holder. Such a slide is shown at B. It enables the possessor to adjust the holder exactly to his habit, so that without efi'ort, and unconsciously on his part, the ink will, in the act of writing, be fed to the pen exactly as fast as required; and when the pressure is entirely relaxed at theltonclusion of the writing, the expansion of the holder sucks the surplus ink away from the pen,

again.

When the pen is not in use it is necessary to guard against leakage and against any are-- cidenta-l discharge of its ink.

At the upper end of the barrel therc'is a diaphragm, (I, having a small central hole, 0, through which air is moved, either to discharge the contents of the reservoir or to charge the same, and above said diaphragm a section, 1, of the holder, which is connected to the barrel bya screw, and is provided with and the outer end of the plu a central conical plug, 71, which, when said section is screwed home, acts as a valve to close the diaphragm and prevent the escape of air. When the holder is charged, or whenever it is in use, this section is screwed down tight, so as to close the diaphragm. At the lower end a removable plug, I, is inserted, and said plug is provided with a socket'tor the pen i, and with a valved discharge-hole, through which the ink is discharged upon the inner side of the pen. For the purpose of accuracy I construct. this plug of four parts, as shown. l irst,the plug proper, which may be titted to hold by friction or by screw, as desired; but friction is sufiieient. practically., This plug is bored centrally, and a tightlvfitted hollow stein, I, inserted and secured there by a small nut.

A headisfornicd onthc outer-end of the stem, and a. turning-sleeve, m, fitted between the head Said sleeve is provided with a laterallyprojecting boss, at, which rests in a notch in the end of the plug, said notch being larger than the boss, so as to permit the sleeve to rotate through anarc of, say, ninety degrees. While placed in position at one extremity of its rotation, a small drill is passed through both sleeve and stem until the hollbw ot'thc latter is penetrated, so that the sleeve becomes a rotating valve, to open the passage for the escape of the ink when in one position and close it when in another.

'When the section is screwed home and the ink-vent closed the reservoir is closed against the escape of ink.

hen the reservoir is to be filled a flexible india-rubbcr bulb, l, is employed to exhaust the reservoir and cause the ink to flow in by atmospheric pressure. The bulb is attached to the upper end of the handle and the head unscrewed to a small extent, so as to open the air-passage in the diaphragm. The ink-vent is also opened by turning the sleeve. The bulb ina-ythen be squeezed to expel the old ink from the reservoir, or it may have been exhausted in that way before uuscrewin g the cap. Vhen the bulb has been exhausted the lower end of the holder, with the ink-vent open, is dippedinto the ink, and the bulb is then sutfered to expand, and by exhausting the air within the holder atmospheric pressure compels ink to flow in and fill the holder.

Those holders designed for pocket use are provided with a cover or hood, Q, for the pen, so that it shall not be injured in the pocket.

Having described my invention, what l claim as new is- I 1. An ink-holding or reservoir pen-holder with an elastic section, combined with an ad justingslide bearing upon said elastic section, to adjust its elasticity to suit the-habit of the user, for the purpose set forth.

2. An ink-holding or reservoir pen-holder with walls divided by longitudinal slits, so as to become elastic, combined with a movable band or ring, to regulate and adjust the clasticity of said wall, inthc manner and for the purpose set forth.

3. The removable plug for the lower end of the reservoir, provided with the hollow central pin, secured by a nut and a rotating collet, provided with a stop to limit its rotation, and perforated, as described, to constitute a gate or valve for the ink-vent, as set forth.

'SEtKER, 

